help adding a second LED on alarm

[95Eclipse]

Does anybody know how to add a second LED light on to an existing alarm please help if anybody has experience.....
I tired putting a 5 volt LED on there and it didn't work (I used the wires going to the existing LED) I know a lot of people has done this 'cause I've seen it where they put LED's working with alarms right on the headlights

Thank you!

 

[FiReBReTHa]

dont use a 5vlt one, use a 12volt one, with the proper resisitor on it.

 

[lowavenger96]

They must be in a series so pos from alarm to pos of led1 neg of led 1 to pos of led 2 led 2 neg to neg of alarm....

 

[LightningGSX]

First of all, what kind of alarm is it? Most alarms use a 3 volt LED and putting them in series will make both LEDs less bright.Tell me what kind of alarm and how many LED's you want and I'll tell you how to hook them up.

 

[95Eclipse]

Originally posted by LightningGSX
First of all, what kind of alarm is it? Most alarms use a 3 volt LED and putting them in series will make both LEDs less bright.Tell me what kind of alarm and how many LED's you want and I'll tell you how to hook them up.

Thanks for the replies guys
Its a Viper 300 ESP at least that's what's on the box
and I want to add two extra ones and I have already two 5volt LED's from RadioShack (I can get different ones if needed. I appreciate it if you all can help me out.

Thanks

 

[90 Eclipse GS]

I have been wanting to do this for a while I just havent thought much about it lately.

My Alarm is a Crimestopper CS-9608PI & The new LED is one of the blue ones that I got of ebay (it has the circuitry that you can use w/o an alarm that it will flash only when the key is off) anyways I want to add this to my existing 1 red Led.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[DSMRevolution]

Yeah you wouldn’t want them in series. Too much voltage drop across the first bulb. If you had a 12V system and used two 6V LEDS with the same resistances then you would be okay. I believe you want to wire them in parallel. In other words, positive off alarm to positive on both LEDs. Negative off alarm to negative on both LEDs. Should work fine that way and you don’t need to worry and account for voltage drop. Hook up a DVOM and check voltage coming from the alarm to the LED. It will be a pulse voltage so make sure you either use a analog VOM or a fast digital DVOM. (DVOM is just a volt meter. Digital Volt Meter).

PM me if you have any more questions.

 

[LightningGSX]

Voltage isn't the issue, current is whats gonna kill your LEDs or the output on your alarm.Do either of you have specs for your LED's?VR(voltage) and IF(current)? The resistors you add to most LEDs are to protect the LEDs, in this case we have to protect the output from the alarm too.Your gonna need to add a transistor like a 2n2222(50 cents).

 

[95Eclipse]

Originally posted by LightningGSX
Voltage isn't the issue, current is whats gonna kill your LEDs or the output on your alarm.Do either of you have specs for your LED's?VR(voltage) and IF(current)? The resistors you add to most LEDs are to protect the LEDs, in this case we have to protect the output from the alarm too.Your gonna need to add a transistor like a 2n2222(50 cents).

All I have for info is 5 Volt 30mA 300mcd
up to 6 volt max
and I want ot add two more
I saw the two wires for the existing LED and tapped there but mine did't light up ( pos. of existing LED to pos. of new and neg. of exis. to neg. of new) I know the LED's work beacause I tried them with a 330 resistor with 12v coming straight from battery
now, mine are not "blinking LED's" do I need to get those instead or would the regular type work there?

and more info on the transistor like where do I need to tap it at.

 

[LightningGSX]

Test the LED output on your alarm to see if its + or - switched.Also check how much voltage it outputs.I think it is a 5 volt output and is ground switched, but make sure and I'll post a diagram.And no don't get blinking ones, the ones you have will work perfect.

 

[95Eclipse]

Originally posted by LightningGSX
Test the LED output on your alarm to see if its + or - switched.Also check how much voltage it outputs.I think it is a 5 volt output and is ground switched, but make sure and I'll post a diagram.And no don't get blinking ones, the ones you have will work perfect.

I don't know how to find out if it's + or - switched, but
here's what I did, I tried Grouping them like Lowavenger said, it didn't work, so I went ahead and wired them parallel(pos. of Alarm to pos. of two LED's, neg. of Alarm to neg of two LED's) and it did work but the only thing is, I can only get two of them to light up, it doesn't matter which two( existing and one new or both new) it's like there is not enough power for all three at the same time...
any suggestions?...

thanks!

 

[LightningGSX]

The output I think is only 5 volts, so two 5 volt LEDs in series would require at least 10 volts.The output is probably also current limited, thats why only 2 work at a time.I have a few viper alarms laying around but I can't seem to find them.You could test the output with a multimeter, or wait for me to find the info.

 

[lowavenger96]

Trust me parell is the way to go on Alpine alarms you can add up to five leds this way . Since it is an viper give me you addy and I'll send you oem Viper leds . I installed for 10 years and am mecp master certed ...



My own car has a Alpine sea8081 with a home made remote start ( used timed outputs and latched outputs) ........

 

[LightningGSX]

Even if he uses the OEM viper LEDs he will still have the same problem, the Viper LEDs are 3 volt and the ones he is trying to use are 5, so not much difference.Alpines have a 250milliamp LED output, Vipers do not.Unless he finds low current(which aren't bright) LEDs(<10mA), only one or two will work without a transistor.And I think he wants to use the blue ones he has, not the red Viper LEDs.

 

[90 Eclipse GS]

Originally posted by 90 Eclipse GS
I have been wanting to do this for a while I just havent thought much about it lately.

My Alarm is a Crimestopper CS-9608PI & The new LED is one of the blue ones that I got of ebay (it has the circuitry that you can use w/o an alarm that it will flash only when the key is off) anyways I want to add this to my existing 1 red Led.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Do yo think I can just add the second blue LED to my alarm? It is alot brighter then my red one that came with it but I want both. It won't hurt my alarm will it? If so how would I hook it up (series or parellel).

 

[lowavenger96]

Viper does use a + out to trigger the led .. I personaly then if he trewly wants to use those leds would use the ground when armed output and a flasher assembley from The Hack Shak...He would need a resistor a diode and some understanding of electronics..

 

[LightningGSX]

The easiest and the best way is,if it is a positive trigger, a transistor.You can use just about any NPN transistor from radioshack, this will allow all the LEDs to function like they are supposed to(blink to show triggered zones, the 2hz flash for passive arming, and the normal 1hz flash for armed).If you use the ground while armed output the LEDs will just flash any time the alarm is armed, and not flash like they are supposed to.The ground while armed can only sink 500mA, which depending on the starter kill relay and anything else that may be hooked to it, might not be enough current to run the LEDs anyway(not likely, but possible).

You'll need a 2.2k ohm, a 390 ohm, and a 120 ohm resistors.The 120 ohm resistor has to be a 1/2 watt resistor because it dissipates 400 mw.You will also need an NPN transistor like a 2n3904(very common),2n2222(extremely common), or just about any other NPN transistor.Combined they will cost you around a dollar.

 

[LightningGSX]

If the output is negative this will not work, you will need to change the NPN to a PNP and some minor wire changes.If the red LED does not work you may need to lower the resistance of the 390 ohm resistor, the 390ohm is assuming the viper LED is 3v 25 mA.Do it this exact way and it will work, I tested it.If you can't find the parts you need, I can send them to you, I have a million of them.Sorry about the crappy diagram.

 

[LightningGSX]

Originally posted by 90 Eclipse GS
I have been wanting to do this for a while I just havent thought much about it lately.

My Alarm is a Crimestopper CS-9608PI & The new LED is one of the blue ones that I got of ebay (it has the circuitry that you can use w/o an alarm that it will flash only when the key is off) anyways I want to add this to my existing 1 red Led.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

You may not need a transistor for just one other LED,if you do,you should be able to use this diagram too, with different resistor values.If you just want to add one LED (5v 30 mA) to your existing one, just follow the diagram and switch the 120 ohm to a 270 ohm 1/4 watt.

 

[95Eclipse]

Originally posted by LightningGSX
If the output is negative this will not work, you will need to change the NPN to a PNP and some minor wire changes.If the red LED does not work you may need to lower the resistance of the 390 ohm resistor, the 390ohm is assuming the viper LED is 3v 25 mA.Do it this exact way and it will work, I tested it.If you can't find the parts you need, I can send them to you, I have a million of them.Sorry about the crappy diagram.

I was looking at your diagram and it actually looks really simple( good job)
I'm going to try to get all the goodies tomorrow and try it, I have one question though the diagram shows the positive wire out of the alarm and going to the NPN transistor, but it doesn't show the neg. out of alarm, is that the same ground (which is "E" wire) on the diagram coming out of the PNP or not?

It looks simple enough for a noob like me to be able to do it.
Thanks, hopefully I don't F****up the whole alarm sys.....

 

[LightningGSX]

If it is positive trigger, you don't need to use the negative LED wire, just wire the E(emitter) to ground.

 

[95Eclipse]

Originally posted by LightningGSX
If it is positive trigger, you don't need to use the negative LED wire, just wire the E(emitter) to ground.

ok one more question
the 12v used on diagram, where exactly do I tap to?
cause it's got to have power when the car is turned off right?

 

[95Eclipse]

I just got back from Radio Shack and found some of the parts.
I got the NPN transistor(2n3904) and 2.2k resistor,
that's all they had
I have a 320 ohm instead of 390 and a 150 ohm 1/2 watt instead of the 120 1/2 watt for the power supply
will those work???
They have all kinds of crap exept what I was looking for!
please answer the previous post too, so I can start having fun....

 

[LightningGSX]

You can get +12v from just about anywhere, I'd recommend getting it from the alarms power wire(before the fuse) which is usually hooked up to the +12v at the column.It would be smart to put a fuse on your power wire too.Those resistor values should work, worst case, you may blow the viper LED, but I don't think it is likely.I would solder everything and double check for shorts before you try it.Let me know how it works.

 

[95Eclipse]

Ok I wired everything up just like the diag.. shows and tried it and all the LED's light up, but don't blink. Then I got curious as to what it would do hooking everything up to negative coming out of the alarm, I knew it wasn't going to work I just got curious.. and the red LED blinks but you can barely, I mean barely see it,( the ground out of the transistor was still hooked up to ground) So do you think that it could possibly be negative activated since there is presence of possible blink?
if so what changes do I need to make? as far as wiring and changing parts.
Thanks!!